The Sunflower General
by Hysterical Clerical Hijinks
Summary: Remnant is devastated by war. Human, faunus & even the primordial Grimm are ruined, casualties of the greatest conflict the world has ever known. Like her friends before her, Yang sacrifices everything to end the war. However, due to an incredible twist of fate she does not die. Thrown into her past with awesome, newly discovered powers, can she save them all? Gamer-fic! RECOVERED!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth own RWBY._

_Also, important authors note at the bottom of the chapter! Your answers are down there, folks!_

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><p><strong>The Sunflower General<strong>

Chapter One: A new challenger approaches!

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><p>My arms ache, the familiar fire in my muscles a screaming memo of the hectic fight I was just in. My hair, usually a preternatural luscious gold, hung in dirty rivulets, caked with blood and sweat. The wounds I sustained, the few that actually managed to pierce my Aura shielding, burned fiercely. But for all of that, I can think perfectly clearly.<p>

And I can hear Blake screaming at me... which is new one. I glance over at my shoulder, propped inelegantly against the unwielding metal of the door in front of me. Poor beautiful, broken Blake. She really doesn't want me to do this. Maybe she'll understand soon one day.

She looks breathtaking, even now, covered in the remains of both Grimm and White Fang alike. Her golden eyes glowing with animalistic ferocity, the intensity of her glare is piercing. The thought that she might lose control is quelled by the knowledge that behind those savage eyes lay a razor sharp mind. I can practically hear the gears turning in her head as she tries to come up with plan after to plan to spare me. Unfortunately, contingencies were always Weiss' forte.

Her hair raven locks stick to her, probably because of the accumulated filth of battle. They wrap around her face and neck like flowing, ebon serpents (s_paring a quick moment to think that imminent death makes me rather poetic, who knew all those things she read me stick **now** of all times?). _Blake's bow must have been lost in battle, I can clearly see her purple-black cat's ears pinned flat against her skull. (_The list: grumpy, scared, annoyed, sad and furious, each one paired with its own, distinct body language. I've had a lot of practice picking them out._) Her amber eyes are wide, the slitted pupils dilated. She's furious, or scared. Both, I would guess. I can see tear tracks forming, visible lines of unmarked skin contrasting against blood and ashes.

I really wish she wouldn't cry, it's alway a bit much for me. I was a lot like pops in that regard. Good ol' Tai-Yang always was strangely clueless when it came to women.

I'm snapped out of my memories when Blake's mouth opens again. I hear her voice, clear and strong even across the din of the dying battle.

"Yang! No, Yang stop! You listen to me Yang Xiao-_fucking_-Long, don't you _dare_ do what I think you are going to do!" Blake screams. Definitely furious then. Too bad she's too far away to stop me. She sprints closer regardless. I sigh, turning and opening the hatched door quickly, before facing outwards once more. Only over fifty metres away now. Still too late.

"Sorry kitty, but us two babes are the only badasses baller enough to do it and I _don't_ want to find out if you have nine lives." I say, pulling the door closed. I rummage in my supplies pouch, pulling out and uncorking a vial with my teeth. A quick application of red dust melts the door shut just as she reaches it, if the loud banging was any indication. I look behind me and see the gigantic dust crystals used to power the cannon begin to hum with repressed power. Massive wires and thick, braided cords of metal carry glowing energy up into the ceiling. A pedestal sits in the middle, close enough to work with dust if needed.

_Handy._

"Yang! Fuck, Yang open this door right now! Open the door Yang!" Blake screams again, ramming fists and knees against the solid steel gate in order to force it open. Futile... but in a selfish way it makes me feel good that she's fighting this so hard. It makes it even clearer that I am making the right choice.

"Kitty, you know I'm not going to do that. Only one of us needs to make sure the dust crystals align. And it's gonna be me." I say as I turn to look out of the small diamond-glass window, out to the battlefield beyond the door... out to _her_. She looks up, catching my eye and bolting over to the window, fist cocked.

_'CRACK!'_

"We both know that's not going to work, kitty." I say quietly, knowing that her faunus enhanced hearing would pick it up. The determination that was raised with her fist just a few moments ago flags and she once again looks so very, very lost. Her breath catches visibly as she looks into my eyes.

Behind me are the slowly building notes of rattling crystals. I can't stall for much longer.

"I can't let you do this now Yang. I can't let you go now. We're so close now. _So close_." The last part is said so softly that I could only understand by reading her lips, her voice having dropped too low to be heard over the surrounding noise. But even then, I could hear she wasn't just talking about the end of the war. Blake's never had many people close to her... And now she's losing one of the few she has left.

"Blake." I prompt as she starts crying in earnest now, her chest now heaving more from pent up emotion rather than previous exertion. "_Blake." _I reiterate, louder, catching her attention. "This is _it_, Blake. After this... it's over." I say. I can see her gearing to interrupt so I raise my voice, speaking over her.

I don't have the time to argue.

"I am sorry, you know," I gesture to the area around me."for _this_ and...and so much more. This wasn't part of the grand plan... did I ever _tell_ you about the grand plan?" I babble, running my hands through my hair, voice echoing with the excitement I once felt. "It was you, me and the gang, fighting the Grim and saving humanity. Then once we'd become legendary hunters, we'd putz around for a while, living the high life. Then when we were done with that, we'd retire. I'd open a sweet bar and you'd go teach at Signal or Beacon, then we settled in and have like bazillion kids!" I am ranting now and she is staring at me wide eyed, astonished. I'd never talked about the future, always saying I lived in the now or that we'd talk once the war was over.

I guess its basically over now, so it counts, right?

"We'd have sometimes look after Ruby's kids," I ignore the familiar pang hurt caused by the thought of my beautiful, wonderful, hyperactive dead little sister. "and one of ours would fall in love with one of Ruby's kids see, and then _they'd_ get married! Then me and Rubes would finally be like, double related! Then they'd give us loads of little grand babies, which we'd spoil _so hard_. And when we got old, you'd still be reading, sitting on the front porch of the house we bought when we were young and I'd still be in the garage, fixing up my bike. That... well that was the plan." I finish, saying all this in record time, it's a blur really, but she looks like she understands everything. She looks how I feel, just so sad that we'd never live the grand plan.

She looks anguished, crying openly with her forehead and hands pressed against the glass. "Oh Yang, please no, I want… Yang _please_! I love you! I c-can't… Sunflower please, not now. I love you-" I feel tears prickling at the my the corners of my eyes as she starts sobbing her mantras of 'I love you', 'Please Yang' and 'Sunflower no!'.

The hum of the crystals behind me is growing more violent, the rattling turning into full-fledged shaking that rumbles around the room.

"Sorry kitty, but it's now or never." I say, she opens her mouth, screaming something to interrupt me but I stop her with a small glare. "_Now you listen to me_, once the war is done you and Weiss stick together, yeah? You guys are the only ones left and if you don't look after each other I am going to kick your gorgeous ass all over the afterlife!" I start.

She's looking at me like I am tearing out her heart and I am so _fucking_ sorry, Blake.

"Once everything's settled you be happy! Really, honestly happy! Go find some cute faunus and have a family, you deserve it. Same with the Ice-princess. Except the faunus part. Or not; who knows with that girl? I'll be watching with the others, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" I say with a grin despite the tears in my eyes, walking backwards to the gigantic pillars of dust that are shaking so violently behind me. I stop for a brief moment, locking gazes with Blake once more. "I love you Blake, so much." At this she starts to beat her fists against the glass again. She stops her desperate attack, if only for a few moments.

"Yang... I love you, please." She strangles out, looking like the words are causing her physical pain. She knows though that I can't stop now though, it's me or a few million civilians that the cannon is targeting.

And I won't let something like that happen. I'd be dishonouring the memories of everyone who gave up so much to protect our world.

This is me ending the war, for Rubes, Jaune, Pyrrah; everyone really.

"Sorry Blakey, but it seems like I am going out with a '_Yang'!_" Not my best, but I am under pressure here. She's slowly sinking to her knees as I step on to the pedestal behind me. I have to stabilize the dust crystals by pushing out the excess power with my Aura. I grab the one on my left and then the right, flaring out my aura as I do. I can feel a slight shift in both as the extra energy starts collecting around my body. It's not quite enough, but as long as I can siphon some I should have enough to expel all the crystal's overloaded charge. It's slow going but bit by bit, inch by mile I force the energy collected out of the crystals.

Eventually it stops and the rattling ceases. I can feel the energy build up forming, clinging to my Aura. It's actually gathering so quickly it is forming in the visible spectrum, an ethereal startling white.

Blake looks up at me, I can see from here that she thought I would be gone by now. She starts to say something but I can feel the energy rising rapidly. My Aura won't be able to keep it out of my body for much longer and then... it's probably going to vaporise me. So I settle for something simple.

"Bye love," I say, smiling. "it's been wild."

She visibly starts and screams. "YANG!"

Suddenly a tendril of white sneaks through and latches on to me, followed by an indescribably huge rush of blinding white. A faint scream of "YANG" echoes through my senses, coupled with a feeling like a thousand pinpricks. Then nothing.

My last thoughts of Blake and how I am really looking forwards to seeing Ruby...

Or so I thought, as all of a sudden in the middle of my mind a huge gong sounds off, and all I can see is:

_**CONTINUE? 9…..?**_

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><p><strong><em>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<em>**

**It's back! Yes indeed, I was the previous author of 'The Sunflower General.' Why was it taken down, you ask?**

**Someone _gutted_ my old account and by the time I got back in, the fic was too long gone to recover. I was pretty devastated at the loss of my story, having no back ups handy. So I started anew, and thus HystericalClericalHijinks was born.**

**What was the first story I posted? Remnant's Reclaimer! A fic about a time travelling member of team RWBY with vast experience of a terrible war, who suffered the loss of her friends and her dear sister.**

_***Crikets chirp in the background.***_

**Yeah, sound familiar? It should. It's the same fucking plot. I wanted to write my timetravel war fic, damn it! So yeah, I recycled a _lot_ of ideas from this fic into Remnant's Reclaimer.  
><strong>

**Now imagine my surprise, when way later I join up on reddit, post in a thread about this fic disappearing and _two hours later_ I have my entire story back.**

**So thank you, Pugglenuts55 (is that seriously the alias you want to be known by?), you're a glorious, insane little man. And I love you for it.**

**So yes, I have my fic back. Joyous, joyous days. Unfortunately, you might have noticed that it is a _lot_ like Remnant's Reclaimer. I will, of course, be changing things up. This is a re-write, folks. Things about to get _crazy_. Also, less shitty.**

**I also can't friggen _believe_ just how much my writing has improved since I started three months ago. It's nuts. Reading this chapter was honestly goddamn painful it was so awful. Please forgive my previous transgressions upon the literary world.**

**I won't be changing _everything_, obviously. I don't have the patience to re-write every chapter word for word. Mostly I'll be doing some serious editing, or changing important lines so that the fic stands out from Remant's Reclaimer.**

**Personally, I sort of see it as a crackish AU of the Reclaimer world.**

**Anyway, I am super happy and excited to have this story back. I hope you are too. It's going to be just like the good ol' days, _only better!_**

**Let's do it!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth own RWBY._

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><p><strong>The Sunflower General<strong>

Chapter 2: Interpersonal Communication

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><p>'You have got to be shitting me. <em>This<em> is the afterlife? Just a nice big bunch of nothing? I couldn't get hooked with some purgatory cable or _anything_, really?" Yang rants, chest heaving, regardless of the fact that she understands that a common symptom of dead people is a startling lack of breathing. After her tirade, she turns around, before her face falls into an utterly blank expression. "Is that a continue sign?" She wonders, before something about the sign grabs her attention. "Wait, is that motherfucker counting _down_ on me?!" She yells furiously.

The ominous and huge glowing letters counts down, apathetic to her plight. "What an _asshole!" _She barks, glaring hotly at the sign.

**Continue? 6… **

It is then she realises she only has six counts left. "Sweet sugar biscuits, what do I do? How do I say yes to a-"

She can only scream as all of a sudden she undergoes the oddly familiar sensation of being flung a mile into the sky (i_nitiation was _**_crazy_**_)_. She starts slowing down after a few seconds, eventually coming to a rest on what seems to be a rather nice cushion. She hadn't stopped cursing since her impromptu launch.

"Where am I now?" She says out loud, after she had vented sufficiently. She can't see anything, the startlingly empty void gazing back at her, utterly eerie in its stillness. She turns around once more, biting back the surprised curses that jump once more to her lips.

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><p><strong>OPTIONS<strong>

**EXTRAS(NEW!)**

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><p>She stands wide eyed and gaping numbly. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. "I can't believe I am saying this but I am utterly… flabbergasted, shit it's the only word that describe how I am feeling. Is that an options screen for my <em>life?"<em> She pauses, brow furrowing. "Someone has to be shitting me. I blame the gods. Hear that gods?" She says, pointedly glaring upwards. Or is it downwards? Space is pretty relative at this point.

Nothing happens. "I guess this is all me then." She mutters, mind whirling with thoughts. 'What could have caused this? What _is_ this?' She thinks, then voices her most prominent question out loud. "What is happening damn it?"

Suddenly, inexplicably, a text window pops up, startling Yang slightly. Cautiously and very curiously she leans forward to read its contents.

'_Yang Xiao Long, this your subconscious! Hey sexy.' _Yang reads, muttering the words aloud.

"What the hell...?" She says, but continues reading regardless of her shock.

'_Now if you are anything like me, which you most definitely are, then you are confused as all hell. No worries, I got your back! Now first things first; you and I have a pretty kick ass semblance, right?'_

"I _am_ pretty awesome." I muse out loud.

'_We know that we somehow store kinetic, as well as other possibly damaging energies, if we hit someone or are hit by em'. We can use that energy to enhance ourselves and stuff like that. Pretty radical__.'_

"Did my subconscious just use _radical_ in a sentence?" Yang pauses, shaking her head. "I don't even want to go there…"

'_Do you think that sounds familiar? You should, you had this thought only once before you threw it away, disregarding it as silly. Can you guess?_

"Obviously not, brain, help a brother out here."

'_No? Well then, two words:_

_Video. Game._

_Crazy eh? That's how our semblance manifested! It gave us a real life honest to goodness super metre'_

"Jaune is _never_ going to let this go, not after all that shit I gave him… I am so boned!" She wails despairingly. So much for a cool semblance, the afterlife was going to be hell regardless if she went to heaven. She had somehow gotten the nerdiest semblance in existence.

'_Now that doesn't explain why we are here, does it? You know, some people can use crystals to charge themselves for a fight. They boost speed, strength and reaction times or just give an elemental advantage. Some people use it as an energy pick me up. Then there are the people that use it to super-charge their semblance. See where we are going with this, gorgeous?'_

"I think so… moving right along, brain."

'_You absorbed more energy at one time from those crystals than most people use in a hundred-thousand lifetimes. Anyone else would die instantly, which we almost did… but not before we essentially juiced our semblance to godly-hood.'_

"Hell to the yes! _Definitely_ badass again, suck that down Jauny-boy!" She yells enthusiastically.

'_Badass, right? Anyway what happened is your semblance chose at that point to manifest itself more fully as a video game... and now we're here.'_

"Yeah but where _is_ here?" Yang questions.

'_Where is here? Well you pressed continue on what was essentially a video game, didn't you? You know that means? A second chance! YANG'S BACK BITCHES!'_

"FUCK TO THE YES BRAIN, I LOVE YOU! YANG XIAO LONG AIN'T NEVER GONNA DIE!"

'_Now before we go thinking we are immortal, we are not. Sorry babe, this is a one-time thing, we got lucky that we didn't get zapped like one big ridiculously attractive bug. Now back to where '**here**' is. Limbo, I guess. I'm you, so I really don't know. But take a second and think about it. Does it matter? Now what **is** important is the fact that we don't know when, where or how we are going back. Reincarnation? Rejuvenation? Alternate universe? Do we go straight from the beginning? Cause being born-again is probably going to be less fun than those religious folk say. Did we save a game? I also think our semblance will be more active now that its been awakened like this, but to what degree? So many questions, so little time. Just be ready for anything, and you'll be fine, I think._

"Aye-aye, ma'am!" Yang shouts popping a salute to her good ol' brain.

'_Now, before that, go through those options and extras. Then I guess we just try and tell our semblance we are ready. That's it I guess. Good luck, you beautiful bitch. Brain out!'_

"Thanks again me!" Yang says cheerily, waving goodbye to the text box.

She turns around again and facing her two other floating text friends. She selects the **OPTIONS** menu by tapping it with a finger.

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><p><strong>Sound: 100%<strong>

**Subtitles: No**

**Auto-loot: No**

**Hide helmet on person: No**

**Reserve party options to party leader: Yes**

**Auto-save: Unavailable.**

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><p>'Hmmm so it seems I don't have enough energy to maintain a save-state for this life? All good I guess, nothing really interesting. The helmet thing is kinda cool but the cops would be on my ass for it.'<p>

So that done, I move right along to the more interesting option. Next I select** EXTRAS**.

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><p><strong>Retain memories: No<strong>

**Retain party: No**

**Retain stats: Unavailable**

**Retain skills: No**

**Retain abilities: No**

**Retain equipment: No**

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><p>"Well, that's unacceptable! Yes to all of those please and thank you!" She says, happily selecting the options, although a bit miffed about not retaining her stats. However, she can't help but wonder about retaining her party and what exactly that could mean...<p>

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><p><strong>Retain memories: Yes<strong>

**Retain party: Yes**

**Retain stats: Unavailable**

**Retain skills: Yes**

**Retain abilities: Limited**

**Retain equipment: Yes**

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><p>"Well that's pretty good I guess. I wonder what they mean by limited ability retention? I guess I'll see!" She says with a grin, before focusing on her Aura. "All ready now! Lets go!"<p>

A flash, a thump and then blackness. Slowly Yang feels herself becoming more aware, her brain muffled with the odd sensation that is covered in cotton wool. She starts taking in huge breathes as all of sudden as she was out of air. Pins and needles cover her body. Sensations smother her like a veritable flood.

Cold. Hot. Lavender. Dry. Sun. Bells. Sore. Sweet. Clamouring. Soft. Smooth. Light. Heavy. Musty. Birds.

"Gah, too much shit!" She yelps, burrowing into her pillow. A few minutes pass as she calms down from her sensory high. Eventually she relents. She groans loudly, moving stiff limbs. She is aware that she is covered by something and sleeping on something soft.

A bed, then.

She lets her lilac eyes flutter open, wincing slightly at the too-bright light, taking in her surroundings.

'This is _my_ room…. _Wait_. This is my _old _room. This building was wrecked even before the war, during our second year at Beacon. That's cool. I guess its ni- Old room. Before the war!' Yang's thoughts come to a furious halt, then move faster than ever as she leaps at her calender. "What day is it?!" She barks desperately.

"February 6th, 2014. That's what... like, _ten_ years? I went back in time _ten__ years, hooo-llly **shit! **_And it's the day before me and Ruby go to Bea-con..." Yang trails off, going slack at the thought. She freezes completely at a clatter and yell from downstairs. Her mind races, everything hits her then because nothing's happened yet and that means there's only _one_ person that could be. Furious, unbridled hope burns in her very being, as her heart nearly bursts from her chest.

"Ruby." She breathes.

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><p><strong><em>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<em>**

**Yes! I changed the pairing! Ruby x Pyrrha is _weird_. And not a good weird, really. Arkos is good; both fun to read and write. WhiteRose is _fantastic; _similarly satisfying to read and write.**

**So here we are. Shameless WhiteRose. Ruby and Weiss are definitely going to end up together. Deal with it.**

**For those of you who missed it last time, this story is going to be very similar to Remnant's Reclaimer. An explanation was provided in the previous chapter's author's notes. Feel free to check it out.**

**Anywho, the response to to re-releasing this has been really positive and I'm glad so many people are happy this is back! **

**Thanks a bunch!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth own RWBY._

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><p><strong>The Sunflower General<strong>

Chapter 3: Respawn

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><p>"Morning sis!" Ruby chirps from behind the kitchen counter. She's wearing some red and black teddy pyjamas and some slippers. Her short black hair messy from a night in bed, like it always is in the morning. Her eyes are that particular shade of silver that she gets when she starts her day with sugary cereal, as she is now, half lidded but with growing alertness.<p>

It's all so familiar to Yang. It's all so old, and such a huge part of her life that Yang wonders how she ever managed to continue after it ended. It's all so normal, and Ruby... and it's perfect, it was everything she had been wishing for the last year because_ Ruby isn't dead! _She's sitting right in front of her and she's not bleeding. She's breathing and eating and smiling. Ruby is right here and she can hardly believe it.

Yang doesn't notice when she starts tearing up, then crying. Ruby's gaze goes from happy, to confused, to frantic and then panic. The last time she saw Yang cry was when their father died, years ago. Yang _never_ cries.

"Yang? Yang! Oh my god, what's wrong Yang, are you ok?" Ruby is going spare asking her what happened and Yang can barely get enough air to breathe, never mind reply because _Ruby is here__!_

"Yang! What's going on?" Ruby is running over now, checking Yang for any obvious injury. Yang realizes that she can't freak out now she has to reply.

"Ye-eah. I am just… I just. I am ok Rubes." Yang manages to croak out weakly. Ruby freezes as she hears Yang call her 'Rubes'. Yang hasn't called her Rubes since the accident, because its what mom and dad used to call her. She knows something serious has happened. She looks up at Yang, gazing into her lilac eyes and feels her heart stop. There are so many emotions flickering that she can barely keep up. Fear, regret, love, pain and a haunting sadness that leaves Ruby feeling as if someone had punched the air out her lungs. Most of all though she sees relief, like Yang has had the weight of the world lifted from her.

"Yang, don't lie, whats happened? What's going on, this is not ok!" Ruby manages to yelp as she runs within arms length of Yang.

Yang looks at Ruby and is deeply conflicted. She's never really lied to Ruby before. She has never needed to. _But this…?_ Should she try to explain what has happened? Could she? What would she even say? Would Ruby even believe her?

She looks down and sees her sisters concerned and loving gaze, eyes bright with worry. She remembers the last time she saw those eyes as her brave, wonderful, idiot sister sacrificed herself to save them all. She looks at her and something inside breaks under the strain, unable to bear the burden of her emotions. She sinks to her knees and gathers Ruby to her and starts sobbing on her shoulder.

Ruby watches as Yang seemingly struggles with herself. Then Yang looks at her and the terrible sadness crosses her features again, more prominent than ever. Yang shakes a little, and then her features contort in a strange rictus of pain and relief as she sinks to her knees and pulls Ruby into a hug. Ruby almost starts hyperventilating when Yang starts to _sob_ onto her shoulder. Not once in her entire life has she seen her indestructible, funny, tough older sister like this. It scares her more than she ever thought anything could. What had happened? What had happened to make Yang like this?

"Yang... sis what happened? What's up, please tell me." Ruby says, slightly hysterical as her own tears build up in her eyes. Yang says nothing and just pulls her sister into another hug, reassurance she's yearned for ever since the day everything fell apart. A hug she never thought she'd get from Ruby again, and nothing else matters at the moment.

Ruby realises that she isn't getting anywhere with Yang in this state, so she tries to remember what Yang did for her when mom and dad passed. She rubbed her head and murmured soft reassurances to Yang (and to herself, if she was being honest) as Yang slowly quieted. Eventually Yang manages to calm herself to a slight hiccup, letting go of Ruby.

"I don't know where to start Rubes." Yang says slowly as she starts cleaning her face with her nightshirt. "I don't know if you will even believe me if I tell the truth, it's crazy sis."

"Try me, Yang." She says confidently, looking better now that Yang has recovered somewhat.

"Ok... well you know how my semblance works right?" Yang says, Ruby furrows her brow and nods, looking confused. "There is more to it than we thought." Yang confesses. Ruby's eyebrows shoot to her hairline in shock. She's always thought that Yang had a _very _powerful semblance, and now there is more…?

'Why does she seem so upset about it?' Ruby wonders.

"I guess the only way to do this is to come out and say it. You know those old fighting games we'd go play at the arcade when we were younger?" Yang questions and Ruby nods again. "Well my semblance manifests itself as what basically comes down to a super-metre." Yang admits.

"Why is that bad, sis? Its kind of weird, but like, not bad right?" Ruby wonders aloud. Yang looks to her and has to forcibly swallow a lump in her throat to start talking again. She prepares herself by slipping her hands into Ruby's.

"It isn't, not really. I only found out after I accidentally super-charged my semblance." Yang starts slowly, trying to work her way into this. Ruby tilts her head to the side.

"When'd you do that sis? Was it at that night-club you blew up?" Ruby muses and despite herself, Yang feels a pang of annoyance flare up. 'I didn't blow it up… its still there, sheesh.' Yang grumbles in her head.

"No… not then. It wasn't a small charge Rubes, I absorbed over a million units of white dust." Yang says softly. Ruby's eyes widen and she gasps.

"Tha– that's not possible Yang, you'd be dead for sure!" Ruby says sounding pained.

"Your right, its not possible to survive that much. I died Rubes." Yang says and Ruby's face drains of all colour and she brings her hands to her mouth.

"Yang, you can't be dead. You can't be here if your dead. I touched you so I know you're not a ghost and if this is a joke the-" Ruby starts rambling with tears in her eyes. Despite herself Yang feels a small smile quirk at the corner of her lips as Ruby starts to ramble.

"Shh, Rubes, shh it's okay. I am not dead. Not anymore. I supercharged my semblance remember? What happens when you die in a video game? It asks you to come back. Turns out before the crystal energy finished me my semblance went into overdrive. I am back for round two!" Yang flashes a watery grin at Ruby.

Ruby doesn't know what to do, because if Yang wasn't joking that meant she actually _died_.

"Ar-are you serious Yang? Did that… did you _die?_" Ruby lip starts trembling as she asks because she never wants Yang to die, ever.

"I mean, yeah I guess I did. It's ok though cause now I am back here with you." Yang says flashing a genuine smile. Ruby starts to smile back until she thinks '_back here with you…' _and she feels something cold climb up her spine.

"What do you mean 'back here'? Where was I? Where were you…? When… when did you die, sis?" Ruby says as she feels the cold feeling settle in her stomach because she _knows_ that whatever Yang was going to say wasn't going to be good.

"Ah well… I was in the capital in Vale. I was stopping this huge gun from firing and I couldn't let Blake be the one to… go, so I aligned the crystals. Siphoned off all the energy. It would be today, um, ten years from now…" Yang trails off and Ruby's eyes nearly roll out of her head.

"Ten years from now? You're _twenty seven years old?!_" Ruby yelps, waving her hands around like she's trying to flag a plane down. Yang grins because she just can't help it.

"Nope, definitely seventeen. I mean, check me out, do I look that old to you?" Yang says with a smug smile because no matter what you say, regaining lost youth is _absolutely_ a positive.

Ruby almost laughs until she notices that Yang avoided one question. The cold feeling is back now because she _knows_ Yang heard her.

"Sis… where was I?" Ruby asks with a small voice. She watches as Yang breath catches in her throat. She watches as her sister's mouth opens and closes a few times, and as a few tears form at the corners of Yang's eyes. She watches as she realises the reason she wasn't there was because _she wasn't anywhere_.

"Oh." Ruby exclaims, suddenly feeling very small. She feels like a little girl all over again, tearing through rubble of a collapsed house. She feels so very young as she thinks '_I die in the next ten years'. _All of a sudden the world doesn't seem as bright anymore, and she wonders what she did in her seemingly short life.

Yang watches her sister and she can't think of what to say. She sees Ruby go white and bring her knees up to her chest, drawing in herself. It breaks her heart a little but it also steels her resolve. Her little Ruby was _not_ going to die this time. Not on her watch. She says as much to Ruby, her confidence in changing the future, in changing the war, growing.

Ruby watches as her sister sits up straighter and a fire goes up in her eyes. Her mouth set in a confident smile. She sits up straighter a cups Ruby's face in her hands.

"Hey, don't worry. It's going to be ok, really. I am back and now I know how to do things right. You and me sis. You and me just like last time. But this time it's going to work even better than before because I am gods damned General Yang Xiao-fucking-Long and I don't lose." Yang says with her customary beaming grin, except there is a difference, a predatory glint that Ruby hasn't ever seen before. Ruby looks at her and she relaxes. Then she smiles. Trust her big sis to make her feel better. She knows Yang will protect her. Everything was going to be ok.

"Did you say _General?_" Ruby asks suddenly, train of thought derailing in abrupt astonishment. Yang was military? Yang was a general? Yang was in the military and a general at twenty seven or _younger?!_

Yang jumps up and gives her a salute. "Commander Rose, General Yang of the first response battalion for the Grimm-Fang war reporting for duty, ma'am!" She barks straight-backed, with a shit-eating grin. Ruby's jaw drops to the floor. '_Commander Rose? I was a commander in the army? She said something about a Grim-Fang war? War, is that what happens?' _Ruby thinks furiously. It fits. Now it makes sense, why Yang seems so solemn, why she's so happy to be back.

She's going to win a _war_.

"War, sis? Why are we so high up in the chain of command? I couldn't be older than twenty five and I am High Command?" Ruby questions her older sister, her brow furrowed. Yang's grin turns into a tight smile.

"Yeah, war. I'll get you debriefed soon, commander." Yang says stoically as she helps Ruby stand. Ruby feels a little bewildered until Yang pulls her in to a tight hug and kisses her on the nose. "I love you sis, but until then lets save all that dark and dreary shit till at least after breakfast! I haven't had pancakes in months, woman, _months_!" Yang says with a huge smile as she drags Ruby to the kitchen. Ruby can't help but giggle and follow, because it looks like even 'General Yang' never stopped being her goofy big sister.

* * *

><p>"Oh dust, I think I am going to explode" says a green faced Yang as she flops down onto a couch. Ruby groans and drags herself next to her sister, her belly also bulging from the inordinately huge amount of pancakes she ate for breakfast.<p>

"I don't think I've ever had that much to eat at once, sis." Ruby moans.

"I don't think I've ever let you had that many pancakes before, Rubes." Yang replies with a slight grin.

"I think - ugh - you may have been on to something." Ruby shoots back, with small burp to punctuate the end of her sentence.

"Mmm, Blake would kill me if I was caught spoiling you like this." Yang says with a far off look in her eyes.

"Who's Blake? Is he a friend? Is he pretty?" Ruby says, looking at Yang with a devious smile. 'Wait, Blake would kill her for spoiling _me?_' Ruby gasps and struggles out; "Is Blake my... you know... _boyfriend?_ Is that why he'd kill you?!"

Yang starts to choke and snorts as she laughs out. "_Noooo - _hah - no sis. Yes, Blake is a friend. Yes, _she's_ gorgeous. She's a definitely not your _boyfriend. _She's my wife." Yang says with a devilish smile. Ruby's eyes go wide as saucers and her jaw goes slack. Yang dissolves into fits of laughter at the utterly shocked look on Ruby's face.

"_You're married?!" _Ruby squeals slapping Yang's arms in a rapid-fire burst of excitement. Yangs laughter gets even more intense as Ruby goes on. "You're married? To a girl? What- when...? _Why? _I thought you liked boys!" Ruby accuses, arm and finger outstretched dramatically toward Yang's face. Yang can barely hold in her mirth at the outrage Ruby is displaying.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ruby demands, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Yang wipes the tears of laughter from her eyes.

"So-sorry Rubes, but last time I didn't even figure it out till like, a year and half from now. I wasn't hiding anything. I like guys and girls." Yang replies placatingly to Ruby. Ruby seems to mull this over and eventually relaxes and accepts it. Now however, her furious glare from before is replaced with a burning curiosity.

"So... a girl? Blake. Who is she?" Ruby asks, rapid fire.

"Yeah, well a woman is better way to put it." Yangs eyes go half lidded as she goes on. "It's not like were married yet though Rubes. I didn't... well I don't meet her till tomorrow at Beacon." Ruby notices how torn Yang looks and realises that in a way Yang has just lost her wife. She shuffles forward and puts her arms around Yang.

"It's ok. She's still going to be there and I have years to start with her again. Me and kitty will be just fine this time Rubes. Even better than last time! I am going to be the perfect wife- err girlfriend." Yang yells out, correcting her momentary mistake. Ruby laughs, relieved when she sees Yang recover from her small slump.

"So what is she like? Tell me, pleeeeaasssse? How did you meet? How did you propose? When did you first tell her you love her? Wha-" Ruby's motor mouth is clamped closed with one of Yangs hands. Yang smiles softly.

"You can meet her tomorrow . Plenty of time to get to know her yourself." Yang says with her small smile on her face. Ruby gears up to protest, but then realises that _maybe_ Yang just doesn't want to talk about it. She slumps and sighs.

"Yeah, ok, that sounds good. I can't wait to meet the future Mrs. Xiao Long." Ruby says with a genuine soft smile of her own. She's rewarded with a warm kiss on the cheek from Yang.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see her too." Yang says wistfully. Ruby lies in her sisters sisters embrace on the long blue couch in their lounge.

After a few minutes, Ruby breaks the silence tentatively.

"Yang... can I ask you a question... about, um, me?" Her voice is soft and nervous. Yang shifts and looks down, eyes slightly narrowed and lips pursed.

"Yeah... I guess. I might not answer though, depending. Shoot, kiddo." Yang replies thoughtfully.

"Um its just... well - you know I've been thinking for a while... and um, I don't really know if... well, you see... I don't know if I like guys. I um, maybe think I like girls... but I am not sure. D-did... future me, you know, figure it out? Do you think you could tell me?" Ruby asks in a series of jittery squeaks. Yang's lips quirk into a small smile.

"Ruby, maybe this is something you should figure out for yourself? You managed last time, I am sure. What do you think?" Yang says in an almost parental tone. Ruby is struck by how just how _old_ Yang seems just then. It starts to sink in that this Yang is still her sister, but this Yang also older and wiser. She's lived through a war... this Yang is a legitimate _adult_.

"I think... well, I don't _feel_ anything when I look at the guys at signal. There was even this one time that Sam - you know Sam, right? - well he kissed me and I didn't really feel anything you know? A couple days after that Alicia came up to me and asked if I could help her pick up her stuff from the gym and I said yeah cause Alicia's really great and pretty," Ruby babbles and Yang smirks knowingly at her sister, as if amused by a joke know one else understands._ "_so of course I want to help. Then o-once everything's all together she's like 'Wow, thanks Ruby, that helped a lot'". At this Ruby takes a breath as she starts miming out the conversation and Yang is struggling not to let a huge smile break out across her face.

"I was all like 'That's fine, I was happy to help. Anything for a my beautiful friend' and she was all happy and she gave me a hug. Then she sort of pulled back a bit... and we were really close and I was getting super nervous. Then, bam! She just kisses me and I am all nervous but it's great cause she's awesome and stuff. And wow, yeah, we kissed and then it was sad because she moved to a civilian school not long after that but I still think about that kiss sometimes cause it was _fantastic_... and uh, yeah, what do you think that means?" She does this all in one breath and Yang, in spite of herself is once again impressed by her lung capacity and that the fact that she seems like a natural charmer. She puts on her best therapist voice and asks back, one eyebrow raised archly.

"What do _you _think it means?" Yang asks. 'Nailed it.'

"I think... it... I think I liked her kiss more, not because I really liked her more than Sam... but because, um, I like girls." Ruby says quietly. Yang chuckles warmly.

"Yeah, that's about right Rubes." Yang says, amused and proud in equal measure. Ruby looks up again, before nodding to herself and relaxing.

"So, I like girls? Cool. Um..." Ruby trails off awkwardly and Yang laughs.

"Seriously, don't worry, you _definitely_ like girls. The number of times I caught you ogling the ladies in the changing room at Beacon..." Yangs says with a full blown shit eating grin. Ruby goes red to to the tips of her ears.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby whines and the blonde haired teenager laughs boisterously.

It's good to be back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<strong>_

**Wow. You guys are super, super keen on the Pyrrha x Ruby pairing, aren't you? It isn't exactly relevant for a chapter or two, so please, let me know which pairings you guys would prefer. Pyrrha x Ruby and Weiss x Jaune or WhiteRose and Arkos.**

**I'm not too fussed about writing either, so the more requested pairing will be the one I stick with.**

**Also, this story is going to go an _entirely_ new direction if I decide to continue it. The way it was going to pan out last time is far to similar to Remnant's Reclaimer now, and I don't feel like writing the same fic twice. As soon as everyone has their memories back, this story is going to go off the rails.**


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